1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing technique associated with acquisition and setting of device information.
2. Description of the Related Art
To confirm contents (to be referred to as device information hereinafter) set in an MFP (Multi Function Printer), the state of the power supply of the MFP generally needs to be ON. If the state of the power supply of the MFP is OFF, the user turns on the power supply, and waits for initialization of the MFP, thereby confirming the device information on a display screen or via a network. In the case of an MFP used by an individual or in an office, even if the state of the power supply of the MFP is OFF, the user can confirm device information without waiting for a long time after turning on the power supply. In the case of a large-scale MFP used in a factory, however, the user has to wait a long time to confirm device information after turning on the power supply. If, therefore, the state of the power supply is OFF, the user needs to wait a long time to only confirm the type and remaining amount of set paper sheets of the device information. Furthermore, in the case of the large-scale MFP, the amount of power to be consumed is large, and it is thus impractical to turn on the power supply for only confirming the device information when printing is not to be executed.
With respect to not only confirmation of device information but also setting of device information, for example, a paper replacement operation by the user is accompanied by a paper sheet setting operation for an MFP, and thus needs to be done while the power supply is ON. That is, when the power supply of an information processing apparatus is OFF, it is impossible to acquire and set device information.
Only a paper replacement operation can be performed while the power supply is OFF, and a paper sheet setting can be made later to reflect the paper sheet setting, as a matter of course. The user may forget to make a paper sheet setting.
To solve this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-100307 (patent literature 1) discloses a unit configured to acquire information using a memory in NFC (Near Field communication) even if the state of a power supply is OFF. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-42995 (patent literature 2) discloses a unit configured to set and refer to information using a memory in NFC even if the state of a power supply is OFF.
In patent literatures 1 and 2, however, it is not considered to acquire device information, change contents, and reflect them to the device information when the power supply of an information processing apparatus is in an OFF state. Therefore, if the power supply of an MFP is in an OFF state, it is necessary to cause the power supply to temporarily transit to an ON state.